The Democrat Energy Bill

THE DEMOCRAT ENERGY BILL -- (House of Representatives - September 15, 2008)

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Ms. FOXX. I thank the gentleman from Indiana for leading this. I want to say it is a tough act to follow, MICHELE BACHMANN from Minnesota. She did such a wonderful job of synthesizing this.

I want to add just a couple of comments to what she has said. The Democrats took over control of the House and the Senate in 2006 by making a lot of promises. They have broken every one of those promises, and this bill is a culmination of the promises that they have broken.

As you all have pointed out, it is a 290-page bill. The Rules Committee is meeting now. We got it 45 minutes ago. They are going to come out, there will be no amendments offered for the bill. It is just a sham. It deserves the ``Emperor's New Clothes Award.'' That is what I want to give it.

I think we need to point out, why are we allowing lawsuits? That was a question our colleague just asked. Let's just say it straight, folks. The Democrats in this Congress are being controlled by three groups of people: The trial lawyers, the unions, and the radical environmentalists. Again, this bill is a good indication of how they are being controlled by those three groups.

The other thing I would say is that from the first of August of this year until the end of December, the Democrats will have kept the House in session for 14 working days. That is all. Talk about a slam against the American people. We are letting the American people suffer with high gas prices while the Congress, led by the Democrats, and it needs to be said 3,000 times every day, the Democrats are in charge.

I want to say why we are going to have this vote, because I am quoting from today's Congressional Quarterly, so it isn't just coming from us as Republicans. This is an objective piece of journalism. The Democrats need to provide political cover to moderate members of their caucus who could suffer on election day unless they can show constituents they voted for an expansion of drilling.

They don't expect this to become law. There is no expectation. But they are giving cover to a few of their members who can say, oh, I went home and voted for this, this sham of a bill.

The American people are becoming more and more cynical. There is a 9 percent approval rating for the Congress. I hope that those who are watching know again the Democrats are in charge. If you want a Congress that is not going to leave you cynical, that is not going to walk away from its job, that is not going to leave you paying $4 a gallon for gas, then you need to pay attention to who is representing you.

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